Until more teams see value in helping the game at home, this problem for the entire sport will continue. This is the saddest quote of the entire piece, one I mentioned earlier: Alas, the father refused to make him work on defense, explaining: I am not a fielding dad., Is there a sadder quote? Its hard in the county. For additional information please contact Tony Carter 615-202-9606. We pick and choose how much we want to play, spend, etc and have been very successful in several states. That covered SOME tournaments and a bat bag. I love helping people get a better understanding of the game. March 5th (Sunday) National League Tryout - 11:00 AM - 1:00 PM. My son started disliking baseball at 9 years old because the boys in rec wouldnt hit a cut off, and dropped the ball so often. The result: In the United States, baseball is becoming a mostly white country-club sport for upper-class families to consume, like a snorkeling vacation or a round of golf. Our son never felt like he missed out on anything; he was too busy playing other sports and doing other activities. Im coming at this topic from a multi-dimensional approach. So Im writing in the hope that youll see that rec ball is a better route. Thats fine for an 18 year old on the cusp of adulthood, but theres no reason to put a 714 year old through that kind of rigor. re: Travel Ball/ Little League Coaches leaving work Posted on 8/20/22 at 6:32 pm to philly444. Dont sacrifice your sons childhood on the altar of the hope that hes the next Derek Jeter. Generally speaking, these parents dont do the Sunday sports to evangelize. Have your church thru fellowship and reach others who may be lost. Coach B, Come play in SBMSA in Houston. Little League Internationals rules, regulations, and policies have been formulated over more than seven decades to ensure a safe, fun, and healthy environment for children. They learn more socially because they have different teammates for each sport and different roles. We dont win Non-Christians by showing them how little we care about worship and the assembly of believers, we win them through honoring God as better than all other appetites. Almost every parent volunteers. He was so upset. D.A.s or District staff are encouraged to work with the leagues in their district to provide combined district travel teams, establish player pools, and find ways for all players interested to have an opportunity to . Several thoughts on that: Their chances are greater for continuing their sporting lives, whether at college or recreationally as adults, if they arent burnt out on competition by the time they turn 18or 13, as Ive seen occur far too often. These are good thoughts. Outside of Little League Baseball. Legalism requires perfection, and Im not perfect, Jesus is. A lot of teams are started by parents, but some are run by former high school and college coaches. The latest Arizona headlines, breaking news, in-depth investigations, politics, and local community stories that matter to you. I played two years of major college baseball at the University of Arkansas, and Ive been coaching my sons in baseball and basketball for the last 7 years or so. Third, most days my family enjoys family travel ball, together. Do the social aspects improve their values and stimulate great discussions at home, or lead them away from family?). My son had the same coach as the year prior. Personally, if I could have done things differently I would have kept my child in the rec leagues but I guess Im not sure if she would have learned to pursue excellence in the manner she did had she done so. Nope, the good, serious players in most sports do both in high school. Dads get into it for a little better competition not meaning for it to take over their lives, and the next thing they know their schedule and wallet are dominated by travel ball. Small town kids grow up playing lots of sports not getting burnt out playing the same one all year round. It should be noted that the local Little League programs pay a one-time entry fee for each team to enter Tournament Play ($200), which goes into a restricted fund used exclusively for offsetting local Little League programs expenses accrued during International Tournament play, including the World Series in each division of play. (Matthew 6:33) I pray that many folks take heed of what you shared. I have been wanting to put my son on a travel team. But besides that, if you are a Christian parent, the absolute worst thing you can do is teach your kids that anything is more important than God. (And options do exist that dont cost an arm and a leg.) "We spent days, months, years . If youre coaching your 12 year olds travel ball team, what does that mean for the rec league opportunities your 7 year old has? Your email address will not be published. For some may not even be an issue. does the drake hotel chicago have a pool . These reflections grow out of my own experience playing and coaching and watching other families. Truthfully, we have gotten better instruction and development at a Rec ball/All Star level. No one should expect to make the show. Is it a help or detriment to their character and bodies? Additionally, every local Little League program in the United States with a team that travels 150 miles or more per one round trip to a section, state, and region level tournament receives a reimbursement from Little League Baseball of $1 per mile for one round trip to each tournament site, to help offset travel expenses. Covering Phoenix, Mesa, Glendale, Scottsdale, Gilbert, the valley . (Answered! For us, the Orioles will always be a family affair. She excelled once she wasnt under my leadership and under the leadership of a professional. Not criticizing anyone not on same path, but if they want it, you wont stop them. Wow this article really spoke to me. Lets think about two sports; Golf and NASCAR. He is 11, athletic, fast on his feet , 4'9" 75 pounds average size for his age. I know you were saying that theres no one answer for everyone. Theres also the matter of synchronizing tournaments with kids school commitments and parents jobs. Do I think that she will even play on the high school level? Well-said. His, For decades, NASCAR was a working class, southern sport. Hey, for years sports programs operated quite successfully without Sunday morning scheduling. With the emergence of travel baseball and its more developed infrastructure, Little League has lost its appeal as a path to higher levels of competition. Well, at registration, I learned my leagues Board of Directors decided to use a pitching machine for 7-year-olds, and that MAYBE toward the end of the season, there MIGHT be some kid pitch. I was recently Contemplating to start travel ball from my son recently and for some reason Ive been holding back . A lot of these programs operate on a business-like, almost professional, level and feature teams in all age groups. I think God led me to this article to reassure me that we are doing right. And thats where the travel baseball jumps in as currently the surest path to the higher level of the game. She does it for fun and its not overwhelming even though its a little more competitive than a local rec league. All of the travel players MUST play rec ball. Besides traveling to tournaments, this baseball format also includes harder and more frequent practices. By accepting all cookies, you agree to our use of cookies to deliver and maintain our services and site, improve the quality of Reddit, personalize Reddit content and advertising, and measure the effectiveness of advertising. The best coaches and the best players stop playing rec ball in favor of travel ball, leading to fewer teams and a lower level of competition in the rec league. Today, that role has been mainly overtaken by travel baseball which has become the basis for young players looking to build a baseball career. Very few will walk in my church doors on Sunday. Now, the league has grown a bit but has 190 kids playing travel ball, with multiple teams at 12u, 14u, 16u, and 18u. I know that may sound weird working with a kid at such a young age, but his older brother played baseball, so he was always around. In the US, the program involves kids ages 4-16 and is organized into the following divisions: For a lot of kids, Little League is the first time they meet with the organized baseball. Jim, How does a big leaguer have a family? Every year, MCLL designates players in our All-Star Tournament teams to represent MCLL in the Little League Tournaments within various age groups. Playing baseball is a nice extracurricular to put down on applications. I wrote about this for Camden Chat in 2016: Orioles baseball will not be the most important thing that we teach our daughter about. He played Little League all the way through age 14 and has wonderful memories of playoff games, sometimes leading all the way to state. The physical and mental challenges of pursuing more than one sport is healthy in every respect. A fun, family-friendly, reasonably affordable activity you can do with the kids? Is the travel ball opportunity your 714 year old kid has more important than Friday nights and Saturday mornings at home with the family? I just watched a program not too long ago on the rise of Tommy johns surgeries. God makes it pretty clear when Paul says, Whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus We represent Him, so we will want to do our best and want our kids to understand why. They also have T-ball divisions. The consent submitted will only be used for data processing originating from this website. In fact, Little League International pays all the expenses of the dozens of teams that reach the World Series level in Little League Baseball and Softball, including travel, meals, and lodging. They open/close each practice and game with prayer and are not overwhelming us with lots of games. After all, theres a reason why the closing scene of Field of Dreams is so poignant. That would inevitably awaken the competitive impulse, leading to more practices, more effort expended, and the gradual creep to a higher key. For every 10 players that are forced to play at the highest level for their age, 6-8 will quit by the time they get into high school. It's a vicious cycle. I am offering these thoughts for parents who are considering whether to put their kids on a competitive team, or a travel-ball team, or a tournament team, or whatever it may be called in your sport and locale. I think this is an important topic that needs to be discussed. Yes, I need Sunday fellowship and worship. Fairfax County, Virginia - Youth Baseball Leagues in Fairfax County. FieroCoug. Written on their website was High Level Competition For Competitive Kids. I love excellence. Brewers pitcher Andrew Kim (10) throws a ball towards the plate and a Giants batter during a game versus the Brewers for a Summerlin Little League North majors game at Trails Park Little. 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